914-6 heating question, I googled! lots of googling! ...bet someone still answered this one! Options

[davebrossi]

Hi All,

One of the long term dreams that has come to be a possibility within the last couple years is the mythical 'heat' that is rumored to spill out of the vents when the red lever is pulled between the seats. With exhaust systems containing heat exchangers now a reality again, I understand the functionality behind the system from the heat exchangers to the vents, but the final piece of the mystery is just how the air is motivated into the heating system.

The original six used the main engine fan and a set of ducts in the shroud to push air into the system, but in my case, the 3.2 shroud appears to be a different design at least in the fan shroud department. It lacks the two vents of the original six, and instead it would appear an aux fan in the engine compartment was responsible for drawing air into the system. I have the wiring for this fan, but before I start chasing after one, I want to make sure the 3.2 relies on that for air into the heat exchangers.

I had an 81 Vanagon that relied on the alternator to perform a similar function as it had a squirrel cage on one side drawing air into the system.